Scottish Executive

Agriculture

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a penalty imposed on a farmer or crofter during the reference period for the Single Farm Payment scheme is carried forward.

Allan Wilson: The reference amount is based on the average number of determined livestock and hectares held during the three year reference period, multiplied by the amounts in Annex VII of the Council Regulation 1782/2003. We therefore understand the reference amount is not based on the actual amount of subsidy received in the reference period which would impose the penalty already levied and suffered by the farmer for the purposes of all future subsidy payments. We do not however have the final community implementing legislation which may affect the position. In addition, the reference amount will of course depend on the livestock or hectares determined by inspection to be on the farm or croft at that time.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the delay in the announcement of the fallen stock scheme; why it will not introduce such a scheme in Scotland ahead of any scheme in England and Wales, and what the reasons are for not introducing a scheme for the collection and disposal of fallen stock before autumn 2004.

Allan Wilson: Further time is needed to finalise arrangements for members’ subscriptions, obtain state aids clearance and to put in place the practical arrangements with the collection and disposal industry.

  The difficulties of setting up a Scottish Scheme are the same as those for the UK scheme. Furthermore a Scottish scheme would be much more expensive for our producers as it could not benefit from the economies of scale which the UK Scheme should deliver.

Alcohol Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources have been allocated to the NHS for alcohol treatment in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Tom McCabe: Funding for services addressing alcohol problems is provided within resources allocated to NHS boards and local authorities, but is not specifically identified by the Executive. The release of funding is conditional on alcohol action teams having agreed outcome expectations and systems in place to measure key indicators. We will be monitoring the use of the new resources through alcohol and drug action team annual reporting arrangements.

  We will be announcing specific funding for the implementation of local alcohol action plans, including treatment and support priorities, in the near future.

Alcohol Misuse

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase funding to Alcohol Focus Scotland, in light of the increasing demand on the service.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6379 on 8 March 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament website. The search facility can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search

Alcohol Misuse

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a standard level of financial assistance for individual local authorities for alcohol services, as outlined in Alcohol Focus Scotland's report A Report on Funding .

Mr Tom McCabe: Local authorities are expected to meet their responsibilities for tackling alcohol problems from within the resources made available to them by the Scottish Executive. While we have no plans to provide additional resources to local authorities for this purpose, we announced on 4 March 2004 that we will be making an additional £8 million available to NHS boards for tackling alcohol problems over the next two financial years.

  This ring-fenced allocation is in addition to the existing resources for tackling alcohol problems provided in NHS boards general allocations.

Arts

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is in respect of promoting and financing community drama groups.

Mr Frank McAveety: Executive support for community drama and all other art forms is channelled through the Scottish Arts Council. The council funds a wide range of drama organisations and groups within communities through both lottery and voted funds. Community arts, including drama, are a key priority for the council and its Access and Participation and Arts in the Community schemes are geared specifically to provide support for this important sector.

Bridges

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from Renfrewshire Council regarding requests for funding to repair the Bascule Bridge, Renfrew.

Nicol Stephen: Renfrewshire Council have written to ministers and officials on a number of occasions seeking funding for works on several bridges in the area, and have met officials to discuss practical options for such works.

Bridges

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit, membership and work programme will be of the review group set up to consider tolls on Scottish bridges.

Nicol Stephen: I am currently considering these matters and will make an announcement in due course.

Central Heating Programme

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5580 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 11 February 2004, what the median waiting time is for central heating installations between initial application and completed installation under its central heating installation programme, broken down by postcode area.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows

  This information is not held centrally.

Central Heating Programme

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5845 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 10 February 2004, how many central heating systems have now been installed under its central heating installation programme, broken down by postcode area.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Eaga have set up a website on the central heating and warm deal programmes. The address is www.eaga.co.uk. The website gives detail of surveys and installations of central heating by main postcode area. Information is not collected on any other geographical basis. Information not shown is not collected regularly.

  The information requested is also given in the monthly reports on central heating and warm deal programmes produced by Eaga Partnership, copies of which have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 25061).

  Please consult the website for information on progress.

Central Heating Programme

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many central heating systems installations under its central heating installation programme have been carried out because the existing central heating system was broken and beyond repair.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Up to the end of January Eaga had installed 16,891 central heating systems. Of those 3,647 were systems that were broken and beyond repair.

Children And Young People

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address the 194% increase in cases of "alleged lack of parental care" in the last five years.

Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive has significantly increased resources to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration in recent years to ensure that referrals are appropriately investigated.

  A number of policies and programmes provide support for parenting either directly or indirectly. These include Integrated Community Schools and Sure Start Scotland, which targets support at families with very young children (0-3 years), particularly vulnerable and deprived families. Further parenting support services are to be made available throughout Scotland as part of our antisocial behaviour measures.

Children's Hearings System

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out to monitor the implementation of Children’s Panel decisions.

Euan Robson: The 2002 study into children on home supervision Children (Scotland) Act 1995 Research Findings No. 4: Home Supervision was conducted by Stirling University on behalf of the Scottish Executive Education Department.

  The Audit Scotland report Dealing with offending by young people (December 2002) was carried out on behalf of the Auditor General and the Accounts Commission. Dealing with offending by young people: A follow up report was published in November 2003.

Children's Hearings System

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available to monitor decisions made by Children’s Panels, the outcomes of their decisions and the rate of re-offending.

Euan Robson: Local authorities and managers of services have responsibilities to monitor and improve their performance. Overall, the Scottish Executive undertakes monitoring through the Social Work Services Inspectorate annual report and periodic thematic and specific reports by the Inspectorate. The Children and Young People Delivery Group is taking forward work to strengthen local quality assurance systems and external inspection of children’s services. Revised guidance for local authorities on planning co-ordinated children’s services will be issued later this year. The Scottish Executive has collated and published performance by local authorities and other service providers under the time intervals monitoring group. Audit Scotland reports to the Scottish Parliament provide independent assessment of performance.

  At individual case level, children’s hearings will monitor progress at review hearings. The Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill proposes a new power for reporters and hearings to refer local authorities to the courts if there are concerns that statutory obligations are not being met.

  The Executive’s Review of the Children’s Hearings System will explore how children’s hearings' decisions and the outcomes of those decisions can be more consistently recorded and monitored to improve the service for children.

Children's Hearings System

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to extend the range of disposals available to Children's Panels and ensure that services recommended by the Children's Panel are fully resourced.

Euan Robson: Children’s Hearings have wide ranging powers to make whatever disposals they consider appropriate to meet the individual needs of the child. If service providers such as local authorities and voluntary agencies can make an appropriate disposal available, the hearing may consider it as a condition of the supervision requirement.

  Measures proposed in the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Bill will further extend the range of disposals, e.g. the power to impose electronic monitoring on young people as one element of a package of support measures. The Scottish Executive has increased funding to support the Children’s Hearings system and improve service delivery.

  Later this year we will look constructively and critically at how the system is operating, where and how it might be made more effective in addressing the needs of children, young people and their families.

Children's Hearings System

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it will give to recommendation 9 of the NCH Scotland report Where’s Kilbrandon Now? recommending that Children’s Panel members who are not in paid work or have no access to paid absence should be paid a fee to help increase participation.

Euan Robson: The first stage of the Executive’s review of the Children’s Hearings System will involve wide and open discussions on the hearings system, its principles and its objectives. Later this year we will look constructively and critically at how the system is operating, where and how it might be made more effective in addressing the needs of children, young people and their families, including how volunteers might be supported.

Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will evaluate and review the implementation of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Act contains a range of different provisions which are at varying stages of implementation and monitoring to ensure that they are achieving what was anticipated when it was enacted.

Concessionary Travel

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it currently ensures that claims for journeys made under its local concessionary travel scheme are accurate.

Nicol Stephen: Expenditure on concessionary travel schemes is covered by the contractual arrangements between local transport authorities and transport operators for the 16 local concessionary travel schemes throughout Scotland. As with all local authority expenditure it is covered by normal public accountability rules. Currently local scheme managers take the lead role in ensuring the accuracy of claims by transport operators for reimbursement for concessionary passengers.

Consumer Protection

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Department of Trade and Industry’s white paper Fair, Clear and Competitive – The Consumer Credit Market in the 21st Century, what representations or responses it has made in relation to the white paper, in particular with regard to the section on licensing arrangements.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Scottish Executive has been thoroughly consulted by the Department of Trade and Industry on all areas, both during to the preparation and since the publication of the white paper. This demonstrates the Executive meeting the Partnership for a Better Scotland commitment to work with the DTI to tackle harassment by loan sharks, introduce fairer credit schemes and new protection from exorbitant interest rates.

Dentistry

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is sufficient dental cover on the Isle of Arran to ensure that residents, including children, do not have to travel off the island to receive dental treatment and, if not, why such a situation has developed and what action is being taken to address it.

Mr Tom McCabe: Responsibility for the overall provision of NHS dental services on the Isle of Arran rests with Ayrshire and Arran Primary Care NHS Trust. However, I announced on 20 November a number of further measures to support NHS dentistry in Scotland, some of which will be available to dentists going to practice in non-designated areas such as Ayrshire and Arran.

Dentistry

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental procedures were performed in each year since 1999 and what percentage of procedures occurred after toothache symptoms had already been noted, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Tom McCabe: The specific information requested is not held centrally.

Diabetes

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many diabetologists there were in each NHS board area at 31 March and 30 September in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: Central data on medical staff numbers is collected via the annual census on 30 September each year. The current data is correct at 30 September 2003. There is no central data collected at 31 March in each year.

  I refer the member to Table B9 in the "Workforce" section of the ISD website http://www.isdscotland.org. Data is available on the number of consultants within the specialty of "Endocrinology & Diabetes", in each of the last three years.

Digital Hearing Aids

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive why its announcement concerning the introduction of digital hearing aids uses terminology such as "clinical need" and "clinically effective option" when such terminology has not been used in similar announcements on digital hearing aids in the rest of the UK.

Mr Tom McCabe: This announcement implements a commitment in the partnership agreement A Partnership for a Better Scotland .

  The overall aim of audiology service modernisation in Scotland is to ensure that the right infrastructure, equipment and skills are in place and that individuals receive the hearing aid which is most suitable for them.

Drug Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its drug misuse budget was spent on (a) health-related and (b) justice-related services, in each year since 1999.

Hugh Henry: We do not hold all of this information centrally, as some drug misuse expenditure is deployed within core or mainstream budgets. A review by our policy unit estimated that, in 1999, 38% of such resources was spent on treatment and rehabilitation, and 46% on enforcement.

Drug Misuse

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of resources it provides for drug treatment and rehabilitation services.

Hugh Henry: According to the Executive’s Policy Unit Review of Drugs Expenditure  http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/PUDrugExpenRev.htm ,38% of the total expenditure of £141.5 million on tackling drug misuse in 1999 was allocated for drug treatment and rehabilitation services.

  As indicated in my answer to S2W-6199 on 9 March 2004, the Executive has made additional resources of £33.7 million specifically available for drug treatment and rehabilitation services during the three years from 2001-02 to 2003-04. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Economy

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the contributions to the economy of communities outwith the major cities.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive regularly considers the contribution to the economy of different communities in a number of ways using available statistics. One approach is to look at Gross Value Added (GVA). The Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimates of GVA are published by local area, and are shown in the table below for 2001. From this it can be seen that 30% of total Scottish GVA was created in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The estimates are calculated on a workplace basis, i.e. income is allocated to an area based on where people work rather than where they live. Therefore areas with high levels of inward commuting will have higher values and so these figures do not fully explain the contributions to the economy from local areas.

  GVA by NUTS3 Area, Scotland 2001 (£ million)

  


Area

Total 
  GVA

Percentage 
  of Scottish total



Scotland

69,179

100%



Aberdeen City, 
  Aberdeenshire and North East Moray

9,711

14.0%



Angus and Dundee 
  City

3,119

4.5%



Clackmannanshire 
  and Fife

4,003

5.8%



East Lothian 
  and Midlothian

1,528

2.2%



Scottish Borders

994

1.4%



Edinburgh, City 
  of

9,954

14.4%



Falkirk

1,760

2.5%



Perth and Kinross 
  and Stirling

2,673

3.9%



West Lothian

2,410

3.5%



East and West 
  Dunbartonshire and Helensburgh and Lomond

1,948

2.8%



Dumfries and 
  Galloway

1,521

2.2%



East Ayrshire 
  and North Ayrshire Mainland

2,480

3.6%



Glasgow City

11,059

16.0%



Inverclyde, 
  East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire

4,148

6.0%



North Lanarkshire

3,215

4.6%



South Ayrshire

1,434

2.1%



South Lanarkshire

3,546

5.1%



Caithness and 
  Sutherland and Ross and Cromarty

806

1.2%



Inverness and 
  Nairn and Moray, Badenoch and Strathspey

1,170

1.7%



Lochaber, Skye 
  and Lochalsh and Argyll and the Islands

952

1.4%



Eilean Siar 
  (Western Isles)

264

0.4%



Orkney Islands

198

0.3%



Shetland Islands

286

0.4%



  Source: ONS

  Figures are shown in 2001 basic prices and are on a workplace basis.

  Last year, Scottish Executive statisticians produced the publication Social Focus on Urban Rural Scotland, which analysed many aspects of life in Scotland comparing cities, urban and rural areas. This can be found on the Scottish Executive website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00257-00.asp. In particular, the labour market chapter compares economic activity rates. For example, in 2002, 64% of economically active people lived outside the four main cities (compared with 63% of the working age population).

Economy

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the justification was for choosing 2000 as the base year for the calculation of Scottish gross domestic product.

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what other dates were considered when 2000 was chosen as the base year for the calculation of Scottish gross domestic product.

Mr Jim Wallace: The year 2000 was chosen as the base year for the calculation of GDP because this is the most recent year for which industry weights are available. As industry weights are derived from input-output tables, the base year used in the GDP index will relate to the latest year for which input-output tables are available - currently 2000. This is consistent with the UK approach, and means that the Scottish index is comparable with the UK and other EU countries which have complied with the ESA95 EU regulation.

  When input-output tables for 2001 are published, the Scottish GDP index will be updated to a base year of 2001. This will affect data from 2002 onwards, as previous years data will continue to be calculated with the relevant year’s input-output derived weights.

Economy

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the calculation of gross domestic product is based solely on data from the industry sector and government services data and, if so, what the reasons are.

Mr Jim Wallace: The calculation of GDP is based on a wide range of data sources including monthly and quarterly turnover inquiries carried out by the Office for National Statistics; published data sources (e.g. on employment levels or activity levels in certain industries); and data received directly from companies and other organisations. This information is aggregated for more than 260 industries in Scotland to produce the GDP index.

Economy

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what account it takes of individual earnings, pensions and benefit payments when calculating gross domestic product.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish quarterly index is based on the output measure of GDP, therefore household incomes, earnings etc. are not taken into account in this calculation.

Economy

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that current gross domestic product data provide a true and fair view of the Scottish economy.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish quarterly GDP index is only one tool used to assess the Scottish economy. This is be complimented by, for example, the full range of labour market statistics, corporate sector activity, productivity analysis, and benefit data we have available to us.

  The Executive consults regularly with external experts, through the Scottish Economic Statistics Consultants Group, on the range of information required to provide a complete understanding of the Scottish economy. It publishes an annual programme for statistical development which acts as a consultative document, on which feedback and comment is welcomed.

Economy

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to produce additional statistical data giving a clearer understanding of Scotland's competitiveness and productivity relative to (a) other UK nations, (b) other UK regions and (c) major Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

Mr Jim Wallace: There is currently a significant agenda of work on developing regional indicators of productivity and competitiveness, both within the Executive, and at the national level. DTI is planning to consult on regional productivity indicators, and the Executive will participate fully in this exercise. The Allsopp review of statistics for economic policymaking focuses on regional productivity measurement, and the Executive plans to work in partnership with relevant Whitehall departments and other organisations to take forward the final recommendations. This will include the need to produce comparable indicators for UK regions and countries, and to allow meaningful comparison with other OECD and EU countries.

  Separately, the Executive has already published a number of articles and analysis of productivity information in the Scottish Economic Report (SER) and further analysis is presented in the latest SER, published on 5 March 2004. The report "Measuring Progress in Smart Successful Scotland" due for publication later in the year, will also contain a range of indicators comparing Scottish performance against OECD countries.

  The Executive consults regularly with external experts, through the Scottish Economic Statistics Consultants Group, on the range of information required to provide a complete understanding of the Scottish economy, and relevant comparisons with other areas. It publishes an annual programme for statistical development which acts as a consultative document, on which feedback and comment is welcomed.

Economy

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the recently reclassified gross domestic product tables indicate that the new methodology assumes that the oil and gas sector accounts for 1.7% of the Scottish economy and 2.7% of the UK economy.

Mr Jim Wallace: The UK weight for the oil and gas sector covers the whole sector, including extraction. The Scottish weight for oil and gas only covers the part of the sector related to "service activities incidental to oil and gas extraction excluding surveying".

  As the extraction of oil and gas occurs on the continental shelf, under EU directions it is classified as extra regio and treated as a separate region of the UK. Extraction of oil and gas is therefore included in the UK GDP figures but not in the GDP figures for any of the 12 regions of the UK.

Education

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made since the Stage 1 debate on the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill on which organisations it will fund to provide advocacy services for children and parents under the Bill.

Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-5990 on 2 March 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education follow-up inspections resulted in an unsatisfactory report in each of the last five years.

Peter Peacock: I have asked Graham Donaldson, Chief Executive of HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), to respond. His response is as follows:

  Details of the percentage of follow up inspections that have resulted in an unsatisfactory report in each of the last five years are as follows:

  


Year

Number 
  of follow up inspections carried out

Follow 
  up inspections resulting in an unsatisfactory report

Percentage



1999-2000

138

7

5%



2000-01

220

8

4%



2001-02

205

10

5%



2002-03

116

13

11%



2003-04*

136

10

7%



  Note: *data only available for period 1 April 2003 – 31 January 2004.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often it anticipates using the powers it intends to take under the draft School Education (Ministerial Powers and Independent Schools) (Scotland) Bill.

Peter Peacock: We anticipate that the powers would be used infrequently.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions a school has been found to be non-compliant with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education’s recommendations in each year since 1997.

Peter Peacock: I have asked Graham Donaldson, Chief Executive of HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), to respond. His response is as follows:

  HMIE do not set specific compliance requirements as a consequence of an inspection. Where improvements are required, they make recommendations which can often be met in a number of ways.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce its plans for replacing those parts of the Schools (Scotland) Code still in force.

Peter Peacock: We announced on 9 October 2002 our plans to phase out the extant provisions contained in the Schools (Scotland) Code, and that we intended doing so in two stages. We will consult later this year on the terms of the statutory instrument that will implement the repeal of the provisions identified for the second stage.

Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultations it has carried out on abolishing the Schools (Scotland) Code.

Peter Peacock: On 3 April 2000, we issued the document " Improving Our Schools – Consultation on the Schools (Scotland) Code " to key stakeholders for comment. On 15 October 2002, we consulted on the terms of The Schools (Scotland) Code Amendment Regulations 2003 (Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 75) used to repeal the provisions identified for the first stage of the repeal. We will be consulting again later this year on the terms of a statutory instrument which will repeal the remaining regulations.

Electricity

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government on progress being made with regard to building an electricity interconnector between Shetland, Orkney and the mainland of Scotland, given the likely impact on its renewable energy targets.

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its renewable energy targets, with what organisations it has discussed an electricity interconnector between Shetland, Orkney and the mainland of Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive is participating in the work of both the Great Britain Transmission Issues Working Group (TIWG) and the Highlands and Islands Transmission Issues Group (HITIG).

  The TIWG is led by the Department of Trade and Industry and its task is to assess the implications for the Great Britain electricity network of the Governments’ renewables targets and to co-ordinate action. The HITG is led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise with the remit to develop the case for new power connections in and from the highlands and islands, to identify key issues and to co-ordinate action.

Electricity

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government on how an electricity interconnector between Shetland and the rest of Scotland would be funded and what contribution the Executive will make to the cost of construction, given the likely impact on its renewable energy targets.

Lewis Macdonald: The electricity network is privately owned and operated and network upgrades are a matter for the network owners in conjunction with the regulator, Ofgem. However, under the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangement (BETTA) arrangements due to be introduced in April 2005, the costs of upgrading the electricity networks in Scotland will be spread across all Great Britain consumers.

Energy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to include heating systems powered by bioenergy as eligible to benefit from renewable obligation certificates.

Lewis Macdonald: We have no such plans. There are no legislative powers available which would allow heating systems powered by bioenergy to benefit from renewable obligation certificates. Our Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative has supported a number of small heating scheme using biomass, solar or geothermal heating.

Energy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider a variation to the rules governing PFI/PPP contracts for the construction of public buildings to encourage the use of bioenergy heating systems.

Mr Andy Kerr: EC public procurement directives apply to most purchasing contracts let by the public sector where the value exceeds certain thresholds. The EC public procurement directives provide scope for reflecting environmental considerations in procurement, where it is relevant to the subject matter of the contract or based upon environmental objectives of the public body concerned. Given that Public Private Partnerships procurements can involve a substantial amount of new build, the opportunity exists to deliver public services in a more environmentally friendly way.

Energy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the generation of energy from biomass is renewable and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Lewis Macdonald: We do consider the generation of energy from biomass to be renewable. Electricity generated from biomass sources qualifies for support under the Renewables Obligation Scotland. This is wholly consistent with Article 2 of European Directive 2001/77/EC on the promotion of renewable energy.

Enterprise

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5655 by Mr Jim Wallace on 5 February 2004, whether it will publish the key findings from the study of inward investors that fall outwith the category of "commercially sensitive" information.

Mr Jim Wallace: A summary of the key findings from the report Inward investment benefits for the Scottish economy is being prepared. I have asked my officials to write to you when it has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Enterprise

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with organisations in Shetland concerning the establishment of a "Shetland Brand" to identify products from Shetland.

Mr Frank McAveety: This is a matter for Shetland Islands Tourism, Shetland Enterprise, VisitScotland and other public and private partners who are working closely to develop a brand for Shetland to include tourism, transport operators, products and businesses.

Enterprise

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with (a) training providers and (b) fishing organisations regarding the future training of fishermen.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has not had any discussions with training providers or fishing organisations about the future training of fishermen. However, there are a range of training programmes available to fishermen that are delivered and funded by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Many of these have been developed in conjunction with training providers and fishing organisations and include a modern apprenticeship in sea fishing, and training for work courses for redundant fishermen.

Erskine Bridge

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in respect of any review of Erskine Bridge tolls.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive is committed to reviewing existing bridge tolls in Scotland. That review will include consideration of Erskine Bridge tolls.

Erskine Bridge

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the contract arrangements are for the collection of tolls on the Erskine Bridge.

Nicol Stephen: Tolls are collected under contract by APCOA Parking (UK) Ltd. Under the contract arrangements the company collects the tolls and banks all revenues direct to the Executive, and is paid a monthly management fee for carrying out the operations. The contract itself runs from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2005, but is extendable by up to one year.

Fisheries

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fishing boats have been based at Whalsay in the Shetland Isles in each year since 1979.

Allan Wilson: Departmental records relating to individual ports are only available from 1985 onward. The number of fishing vessels based at the port of Whalsay between 1985 and 2003 is shown in the following table.

  Active Fishing Vessels Based in The Port of Whalsay 1985 to 2003

  

 Year
 Number 
  of vessels


 1985
 22


 1986
 24


 1987
 24


 1988
 22


 1989
 23


 1990
 22


 1991
 20


 1992
 21


 *1993
 35


 1994
 37


 1995
 40


 1996
 37


 1997
 35


 1998
 47


 1999
 42


 2000
 44


 2001
 42


 2002
 40


 2003
 34



  Note: *prior to 1993 a fishing vessel licence was not required for vessels 10 metres in overall length consequently these smaller vessels are excluded from the data between 1985 and 1992 inclusive.

Fisheries

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) (a) vessels and (b) officers have been based in Shetland in each year since 1979.

Allan Wilson: No SFPA vessels are based in Shetland but they regularly patrol its waters. The numbers of SFPA officers based in Shetland since 1979 are as follows:

  

 Year
 Number 
  of SFPA Enforcement Staff


 1979
 3


 1980
 3


 1981
 3


 1982
 3


 1983
 3


 1984
 3


 1985
 4


 1986
 4


 1987
 4


 1988
 4


 1989
 5


 1990
 5


 1991
 5


 1992
 5


 1993
 5


 1994
 6


 1995
 6


 1996
 5


 1997
 5


 1998
 5


 1999
 5


 2000
 5


 2001
 5


 2002
 5


 2003
 6


 2004
 6

Fisheries

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it has given fishing communities in Shetland since 1999.

Allan Wilson: Shetland Enterprise operational expenditure (grants, training etc.) since 1999 is as follows:

  

 Year
 Expenditure 
  (£ million)


 1998-99
 2.578


 1999-2000
 3.096


 2000-01
 4.187


 2001-02
 2.7


 2002-03
 3.9



  Business and community investments are also funded by the Shetland Development Trust.

  Since 1999, financial instrument for fisheries guidance and Executive back-up funds have contributed some £4.85 million in grant payments (excluding decommissioning) to the fishing industry in Shetland.

  Decommissioning payments over the same period have amounted to a further £4.5 million, with yet a further £747,636.53 made available in transitional aid.

Fisheries

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with fishing organisations regarding the closed season for velvet crabs in Shetland and what support it has given to this initiative.

Allan Wilson: Under the Shetland Islands Regulated Fishery (Scotland) Order 1999, as amended, the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO) is responsible for regulating certain shellfish fisheries in Shetland waters, including velvet crab. The SSMO require to obtain the consent of Scottish ministers to any fishery restrictions or changes to these arrangements, and this was the case for the velvet crab closure.

  Responsibility lies with the SSMO to canvass the views of fishermen and their representative organisations on any measures introduced under the order.

Fisheries

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with fishing organisations regarding the "V-notch" conservation technique for lobsters and what support it has given to this initiative.

Allan Wilson: The Executive supports the use of V-notching as a conservation measure. Following consultation with fishing organisations and other interested parties, an order was introduced in 1999 prohibiting the fishing or landing of V-notched lobsters and crawfish.

Fisheries

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the affect of the new pollution prevention and control regime on fisheries-dependent businesses.

Allan Wilson: Regulatory impact assessments were prepared and consulted on prior to the pollution prevention and control regulations coming into force. These assessments looked at the potential impact across all Scottish industries. The regulations are reviewed on an ongoing basis, including the impact that they have on the fishing industry.

Fisheries

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any particular restrictions have been imposed on Scottish fishing vessels working in the area between the boundary for Scottish and English waters set by the Civil Jurisdiction (Offshore Activities) Order 1987 and that set by the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 and how many Scottish fishing vessels have been subject to any form of penalty arising from fishing in that area in each year since 1999.

Allan Wilson: There have been no particular restrictions placed on Scottish fishing vessels operating in the waters between the boundaries of Scottish and English waters as set by the Civil Jurisdiction (Offshore Activities) Order 1987 and the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999, nor has the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency any record of any Scottish fishing vessel being subject to any form of penalty arising from fishing offences in the area in any year since 1999.

Food Standards

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the scientific information highlighted by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States of America with regard to links between trans fats and hydrogenated vegetable oils and coronary heart disease.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive’s position is in line with the Food Standards Agency advice that, as part of a healthy diet, individuals should try to reduce total fat intake and in particular reduce the amount of saturated fats and trans fats eaten and replace them with unsaturated fats.

Food Standards

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether food labels should include trans fat content.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Food Standards Agency has informed me that declaration of the trans fatty acid content is mandatory only for foods bearing a nutrition claim about it, such as "low in trans fatty acids". The European Commission is reviewing the nutrition labelling rules and preliminary papers suggest that the issue of labelling of trans fatty acid content may be discussed.

Further and Higher Education

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to alter the funding mechanisms applicable to (a) Shetland College and (b) the UHI Millennium Institute.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive has no plans to alter the funding mechanisms for Shetland College or UHI Millennium Institute. This is rightly a matter for (a) the Scottish Further Education Funding Council and (b) the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.

Genetically Modified Crops

Mr Alasdair Morrison (Western Isles) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the commercial planting of genetically modified (GM) crops.

Allan Wilson: The Executive recognises that the public are uneasy about GM and that there is limited support for the commercial planting of GM crops in Scotland. The biotechnology companies have yet to persuade Scottish farmers and consumers that there are real benefits to be gained from GM crops. The Executive’s role is not to persuade people to accept GM products. Our primary concern is to safeguard human health and the environment. Our approach is cautious and precautionary. We will not allow the growing of GM crops in Scotland where we have scientific evidence that they represent an increased risk to human health or the environment.

  We do not have the scientific evidence nor are there powers within the framework of European legislation to ban all GM crops. We must, however, maintain an active role in the regulation process, subjecting each application to careful scrutiny and satisfying ourselves that any products which receive approval are safe.

  In relation to the farm-scale evaluation crops, our statutory advisory committee on releases to the environment (ACRE) have advised that GM herbicide-tolerant beet and spring-sown rape should not be approved for planting on the basis of the management regimes tested under the trials. They have also advised that the consent for herbicide-tolerant maize should be amended to restrict the management conditions under which it can be grown. We accept ACRE’s advice and we have agreed with the UK Government a basis for pursuing the amendment of the maize consent at EU level. In the meantime no GM crops can be grown in Scotland.

  The farm scale evaluations have clearly demonstrated that there is no simple yes or no when it comes to GM and that it is sensible to assess each crop on an individual basis. This case-by-case approach was further supported by the conclusions of the review of GM science. The review panel agreed that a blanket approach to GM technology is not appropriate. Nor would it be compatible with European regulation.

  We should not dismiss the longer-term potential of GM technology out-of-hand. Most people support the development of GM medical applications because they can see the benefits these might bring. We can be proud that Scotland is host to some of the world’s leading biotechnology research and development and we should not undermine our future competitiveness by closing the door to the potential benefits of this technology.

  But the Executive also accepts that GM crops are not solely a scientific issue. We recognise that people have strong views about whether or not they wish to consume GM foods. It is therefore vital that consumers can exercise informed choice whether or not they wish to buy GM products. The new traceability and labelling regulations, which come in to force next month, will go a long way towards this. They will provide, according to Greenpeace, the strictest and most comprehensive labelling regime in the world.

  In order to provide assurance that farmers will be able to meet consumer demand for non-GM produce we plan to establish statutory coexistence measures. We will consult stakeholders, including conventional and organic farmers, on the most appropriate measures and on possible compensation mechanisms for those who suffer financial loss. We will work with them to put these measures in place before there is any planting of GM crops in Scotland. In addition, we will work with farming bodies to provide guidance to groups of farmers who wish to establish voluntary GM-free zones.

  A joint response by the UK and devolved administrations to the key issues raised during the GM dialogue has also been published today. Copies will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Health

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what national strategic plans it has in respect of the care of patients with chronic comorbidity.

Malcolm Chisholm: Care of patients with comorbidities forms an important part of chronic disease management.

  We have national strategies for coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, implementation of which takes account of the inter-relationship between these conditions and with others. We have also encouraged strategic planning across NHSScotland to take account of the growing number of older people in the population, as they will be the group most likely to be affected by co-morbidities.

  Community health partnerships will have a particular focus on delivering improvements in the management of chronic conditions. They will be particularly well placed to meet the increasing challenge of tackling chronic disease, and provide an integrated approach to care when patients present with more than one condition.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in relation to the proposed rural healthcare faculty, recommended in the report Solutions for the provision of health care in the remote and rural areas of Scotland in the 21st century in January 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for educational bodies, NHS boards and other organisations in rural areas to consider. The Scottish Executive has encouraged the development of education, training and research in rural areas through bodies such as the University of the Highlands and Islands and the Highlands and Islands Research Institute. It has also ensured that the additional costs of providing health care in rural areas are reflected in NHS boards’ funding allocations.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what central information it has on the status of medical equipment in NHS boards and whether it will take steps to introduce a specific national medical equipment management standard, as referred to in recommendation 5 of Audit Scotland's report, Better Equipped to Care? - Follow-up report on managing medical equipment .

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive only holds central information on the monetary value of medical equipment as an integral part of the summarised annual accounts for the NHS. NHS bodies themselves are required to maintain asset registers which detail the medical equipment owned by that body. The Scottish Executive will be considering fully the recommendations of Audit Scotland’s report Better Equipped to Care? – Follow up report on managing medical equipment including recommendation 5 and will respond in due course.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any information on a national or NHS board area basis on any incidents in which a patient’s health or recovery has been put at risk due to outdated equipment and, if so, whether it will provide such information for each year from 1999-2000 to date.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information is not held centrally.

Heritage

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the protection and conservation of Castle Tioram will be part of Historic Scotland's commitment to safeguard the nation's built heritage.

Frank McAveety: Castle Tioram is a scheduled monument and as such responsibility for its maintenance rests with its owners. At the public local inquiry held in 2001 into an application for scheduled monument consent for the restoration of the Castle, Historic Scotland argued the case for consolidation. Scottish ministers subsequently refused scheduled monument consent for the application.

  Any future application for scheduled monument consent in respect of the Castle would be considered on its merits and in line with Scottish Executive policy.

Higher Education

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish students attend university in (a) Scotland, (b) other parts of the United Kingdom, (c) other nations in what will become the European higher education area in 2010 and (d) other areas of the world.

Mr Jim Wallace: In 2001-02, there were 148,815 Scottish domiciled students attending Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs), and 13,044 Scottish domiciled students attending HEIs in other areas of the United Kingdom.

  The Scottish Executive holds information for Scottish students at HEIs in the UK only. Therefore information on students attending HEIs outwith the UK is not available.

Historic Scotland

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to include the maintenance of Scotland's cultural and historic heritage in Historic Scotland's performance targets.

Frank McAveety: Responsibility for the maintenance of individual historic buildings and monuments rests with their owners. Historic Scotland is directly responsible for the maintenance of over 300 properties in the care of Scottish ministers and one of the agency’s key targets in recent years has been the completion of condition surveys on all these properties in order to prioritise more effectively its programme of maintenance.

Homelessness

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that 16 and 17-year-old homeless people designated as "priority need" under section 1 of the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 are given the support services essential to their needs.

Ms Margaret Curran: Local authorities are required by section 1 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 to develop a homelessness strategy for their area. Scottish Executive guidance makes clear that the particular needs of homeless children and young people should be taken into account and addressed in these strategies. The guidance emphasises that where local assessment indicates that youth homelessness is a significant issue, the homelessness strategy should specifically identify this as an area for action and the local authority should consider a specific strategy to prevent and address homelessness amongst young people.

  Local authorities must work corporately, and in partnership with other local agencies, to ensure that the range of needs which a young homeless person may have is met.

  Homelessness strategies have been assessed by a cross-sector panel and feedback given. Implementation of the strategies will be reviewed by the Executive and also monitored by Communities Scotland as part of their inspection of local authorities’ housing and homelessness functions.

Housing

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its most recent estimate is of the number of (a) households and (b) people living in privately rented houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), broken down into (i) traditional and bedsit HMOs, (ii) shared houses and flats, (iii) households with lodgers and (iv) HMO buildings converted into flats.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Scottish Executive does not collect any information on the number of households or people living in private rented houses in HMOs which require to be licensed.

Housing

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new, affordable houses for (a) rent and (b) purchase have been constructed with assistance from Scottish Homes and Communities Scotland in each local authority area in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Ms Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The following table shows the number of affordable houses for rent and owner occupation, by local authority area, which have been approved for construction with assistance from Scottish Homes and Communities Scotland, in each of the last three years.

  Table 1 – Communities Scotland - Number of Affordable Houses for Rent and Owner Occupation by Local Authority Area (2000-01 to 2002-03)

  


Local Authority

Rent

Owner 
  Occupation


 

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03



Aberdeenshire

130

179

281

76

14

28



Angus

115

97

87

0

11

6



Argyll and Bute

64

62

62

12

8

17



City of Aberdeen

149

100

90

41

13

21



City of Dundee

334

305

87

72

7

0



City of Edinburgh

317

324

235

53

0

36



City of Glasgow

1,176

1,555

1,299

287

83

290



Clackmannanshire

72

28

50

0

0

0



Dumfries and 
  Galloway

162

96

98

0

0

0



East Ayrshire

10

36

0

62

0

0



East Dunbartonshire

0

10

4

0

0

0



East Lothian

18

34

0

0

0

0



East Renfrewshire

41

60

15

0

0

0



Falkirk

59

34

16

17

0

0



Fife

261

160

188

72

71

24



Highland

250

167

201

44

15

45



Inverclyde

115

172

135

78

12

0



Midlothian

0

45

14

0

0

0



Moray

35

10

4

0

0

0



North Ayrshire

33

126

71

6

0

0



North Lanarkshire

260

311

154

67

59

40



Orkney Islands

32

46

22

20

29

26



Perth and Kinross

94

129

161

9

19

21



Renfrewshire

187

276

254

19

0

15



Shetland Islands

5

35

4

2

5

3



South Ayrshire

146

95

80

0

0

0



South Lanarkshire

234

179

283

162

20

48



Stirling

85

59

35

22

0

0



The Scottish 
  Borders

99

70

61

11

1

2



West Dunbartonshire

264

48

79

0

7

0



West Lothian

102

90

65

0

0

0



Western Isles

22

40

1

2

0

1

Housing

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding Scottish Homes and Communities Scotland have made available for the construction of new, affordable rural houses for (a) rent and (b) purchase in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Ms Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The following table shows the amount of funding for affordable houses for rent and owner occupation in rural areas, which have been provided with assistance from Scottish Homes and Communities Scotland, in each of the last three years.

  Table 1 – Communities Scotland - Expenditure on Affordable Houses for Rent and Owner Occupation in Rural areas (2000-01 to 2002-03)

  

 

Rent 
  (£ million)

Owner 
  Occupation (£ million)



2000-01

38.4

5.5



2001-02

48.6

2.7



2002-03

45.4

2.5"

Information Technology

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the cost of rolling out broadband to (a) Scotland, (b) each constituency and (c) each Parliamentary region.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6115 on 8 March 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Information Technology

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it is spending in the current year on publicity and advertising to encourage the take-up of broadband and how much it expects to spend in the next two years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The campaign to encourage the take-up of broadband is a joint publicity initiative between Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Scottish Executive. In the current year, a total of £172,653.99 has been spent by the Executive on publicity and advertising for this campaign. This figure however does not include spend by Scottish Enterprise or HIE on publicity and advertising related to this campaign.

  It is not possible to give the Executive’s expenditure for the broadband campaign in any future years as levels of Executive advertising spend have yet to be decided by ministers.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5794 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 February 2004, under what circumstances the Scottish Criminal Record Office would make information available to the United States Government in respect of visa applications and whether any requests for such information have been made in the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) could be required to make information available to implement international obligations entered into by the UK Government. There is, however, no such agreement between the UK and US Governments which deals with the exchange of criminal history information in respect of visa applications. The US Government has not made any requests of SCRO for such information.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there have been under the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912 in each financial year since 1999-2000.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information, which relates to calendar years, is given in the following table:

  Number of persons convicted for offences under the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912, 1999-2002

  

 Year
 Number


 1999
 39


 2000
 40


 2001
 34


 2002
 30

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been fined under the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912 in each financial year since 1999-2000, stating in each case the value of the fine.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information, which relates to calendar years, is given in the following table:

  Number of persons fined for offences under the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912, 1999-2002

  


Year

Number 
  fined

Average 
  fine imposed (£)



1999

28

386



2000

23

357



2001(1)

20

859



2002

21

371



  Note:

  1.The relatively high figure for average fine imposed in 2001 reflects the disproportionate effect of a small number of cases with very high fines imposed.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been imprisoned under the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912 in each financial year since 1999-2000.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information, which relates to calendar years, is given in the following table:

  Number of persons given a custodial sentence for offences under the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912, 1999-2002 is shown in the following table.

  

 Year
 Number


 1999
 2


 2000
 4


 2001
 3


 2002
 0

Justice

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the increase in demand for (a) social enquiry reports, (b) probation orders and (c) community service orders, as referred to in the annual report of the Chief Social Work Inspector, Progress with Complexity: The 2003 National Overview Report.

Cathy Jamieson: Scottish Executive policy is to promote the use of community disposals and to continue to improve the range and quality of community sentences available to the courts, so as to encourage the punishment of offenders in the community rather than in custody wherever appropriate and consistent with public safety. Whilst sentencing decisions are a matter for the judiciary, the increases show that the courts are making greater use of probation and community service. The court must seek a social enquiry report when considering a community sentence or when considering custody for a young offender or a person who has not previously served such a sentence. A rise in such requests reflects an increase in demand by the courts.

Justice

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many social enquiry reports were submitted to the courts in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area, and how many such reports were submitted on time, expressed also as a percentage.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on the number of social enquiry reports (SERs) by local authority is published in Table 4 of statistical bulletin, Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics, 2002-03, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 30274). Information on the numbers of SERs expressed as a percentage submitted on time and broken down by local authority is available on the Audit Scotland website, pages 97-98, at the following address  http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance/documents/2003Report/servicespdf/SW.pdf .

Justice

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10760 by Mr Jim Wallace on 14 November 2000, what the service out-turns were for each local authority for (a) 2000-01, (b) 2001-02 and (c) 2002-03 for (i) probation, (ii) community service, (iii) social enquiry reports, (iv) throughcare (v) home circumstances reports and (vi) supervised attendance orders.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on the service out-turns by local authority is published in statistical bulletins, Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics, 2000-01 (Bib. number 17695), 2001-02 (Bib. number 27370) and 2002-03 (Bib. number 30274). Information in relation to Statutory Post Release Supervision (Throughcare and home circumstances reports) was first introduced in the 2001-02 bulletin.

Justice

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10761 by Mr Jim Wallace on 14 November 2000, what financial allocation was made to local authorities in total and to each individual local authority in (a) 2000-01, (b) 2001-02 and (c) 2002-03 for (i) probation, (ii) community service, (iii) social enquiry reports, (iv) throughcare, (v) home circumstances reports and (vi) supervised attendance orders.

Cathy Jamieson: I have arranged for the information on the allocations to be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 31368, 31369 and 31370). The information for financial years 2000-01 and 2001-02 is based on audited financial statements. The data in respect of 2002-03 is based on revised grant allocations provided to groupings in December 2002. Auditing of financial statements for 2002-03 has still to be completed.

Maternity Services

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the National Services Division will respond to the review of maternity services by NHS Greater Glasgow.

Malcolm Chisholm: I understand National Services Division has responded to the consultation proposals set out in The Future of Maternity Services in Glasgow.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce delays in transferring psychiatric patients in crisis to hospital.

Malcolm Chisholm: Dr Grant’s published interim report of the National Mental Health Services Assessment (Bib number: 30239) highlights problems that can occur in patient transfers. That report calls for flexible and responsive 24-hour support services to be developed which are sensitive to local geography. This fits broadly with the findings of the Remote and Rural Areas Resource Initiative (RARARI) Bid 79 report (Bib number 31082).

  I have invited the partner agencies to prepare Joint Local Implementation Plans to deliver on the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and in doing so have drawn attention to relevant recommendations of the RARARI report.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to provide a "place of safety" for acutely disturbed psychiatric patients in remote and rural areas.

Malcolm Chisholm: Publication of the interim and locality reports from the National Mental Health Services Assessment (Bib numbers 30239, 30221-30234, 30236) co-incided with the publication by the Remote and Rural Areas Resource Initiative (RARARI) of Recommendations for the Safe Management of Acutely Disturbed Psychiatric Patients (Bib number 31082).

  These reports draw attention to the importance of places of safety and alternatives to police stations when people are in crisis. The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 does recognise that there will be circumstances where there is no immediate alternative other than to use a police station. However, the emphasis is on alternatives. I have invited the partner agencies to prepare Joint Local Implementation Plans to deliver on the new provisions and in doing so have drawn attention to relevant recommendations from the RARARI report.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many psychiatric patients were held in police cells while awaiting support from health services in the last year.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Dr Grant, in her published interim and locality reports of the National Mental Health Services Assessment (Bib. numbers 30239, 30221-30234, 30236), has drawn attention to the importance of places of safety and has referred to alternatives to police stations when people are in crisis. The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 does recognise that there will be circumstances where there is no immediate alternative other than to use a police station. However, the emphasis is on alternatives.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address any shortage of mental health officers.

Malcolm Chisholm: Estimates on the impact of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 on the mental health officer (MHO) workforce were reached in consultation with the Association of Directors of Social Work and COSLA. £2.5 million per annum additional funding has been made available for 2004-05 and 2005-06. This should allow for the employment of an additional 50-60 (whole-time-equivalent) MHOs across Scotland.

  The Scottish Executive commissioned research from the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health on the capacity of MHO services to meet existing and future statutory demand. This research, launched at a conference in October 2003, examined service models and supports in place throughout Scotland. The findings will assist local authorities in examining and redesigning existing MHO services to maximise the availability of MHOs.

  The Scottish Executive is facilitating the development of national standards for Mental Health Officer services, as intimated in the policy document: Renewing Mental Health Law. Agreed standards will assist in the provision of a more efficient and responsive MHO service.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will roll out the proactive care programme approach of the community mental health team in Nairn and Ardersier Local Health Care Co-operative, which successfully reduced mental health occupied bed days in its locality by 50% between 1996 and 2000.

Malcolm Chisholm: The benefits of planned care and early pre-discharge planning are well known. The care programme approach (CPA) which has a long history is designed to provide structured continuing care for those with more complex needs. Properly approached and applied the CPA is likely to show the benefits evidenced in Nairn and Ardersier.

  The CPA has been promoted and encouraged at every opportunity in recent years, given its joint working, joint delivery of services components. We continue to encourage its application at every opportunity most recently in our work with the agencies on the preparation of Local Joint Implementation Plans to deliver on the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

Music Industry

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current membership of the music industry forum is.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the relationship is between its music industry forum and the Scottish Arts Council’s Scottish Music Industry Forum.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current priorities are of the music industry forum.

Mr Frank McAveety: A phased study into a proposal to create an Association for the Professional Music Industry in Scotland is currently being carried out by the Scottish Arts Council. This association will become the voice of the industry in Scotland and will, amongst its other responsibilities, assume the role previously taken by the Music Forum. There are, therefore, no plans to reconvene the forum. Past membership of the Music Forum can be found in the reply to parliamentary question S1W-28273. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at

  http://www.scottishparliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Music Industry

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current relationship is between the music industry forum and New Music in Scotland.

Mr Frank McAveety: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6449 on 9 March 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  New Music In Scotland (NEMIS) will be consulted - as will all music industry constituents - by the Scottish Arts Council in relation to the proposal for an Association for the Professional Music Industry in Scotland, referred to in that reply.

National Health Service

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total volume was of drugs dispensed in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is given in the following tables.

  

 NHS Board
 Number 
  of dispensed items – Year ending 31 March


  
 1994
 1995
 1996
 1997
 1998


 Ayrshire and Arran
 3,986,781
 4,113,638
 4,198,550
 4,292,836
 4,447,222


 Argyll and Clyde
 4,598,118
 4,741,083
 4,853,372
 5,002,070
 5,222,131


 Borders
 1,032,568
 1,066,076
 1,089,189
 1,124,774
 1,155,422


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1,482,513
 1,565,225
 1,627,926
 1,710,925
 1,801,779


 Fife
 3,132,726
 3,254,003
 3,365,676
 3,507,607
 3,684,741


 Forth Valley
 2,717,224
 2,805,061
 2,879,930
 3,022,273
 3,131,603


 Grampian
 4,209,231
 4,337,124
 4,421,109
 4,606,572
 4,797,859


 Greater Glasgow
 9,962,664
 10,189,145
 10,421,136
 10,685,905
 11,064,542


 Highland
 1,728,581
 1,816,406
 1,888,466
 1,963,034
 2,048,590


 Lanarkshire
 6,015,455
 6,167,405
 6,392,421
 6,605,033
 6,927,913


 Lothian
 6,135,648
 6,315,371
 6,460,409
 6,589,865
 6,856,256


 Orkney
 163,834
 165,964
 170,298
 171,939
 177,136


 Shetland
 193,908
 194,221
 201,565
 208,418
 220,637


 Tayside
 3,710,683
 3,827,725
 3,943,124
 4,122,682
 4,236,853


 Western Isles
 266,224
 282,833
 292,191
 302,717
 315,102


 Scotland
 49,336,158
 50,841,280
 52,205,362
 53,916,650
 56,087,786


 NHS Board
 Number 
  of dispensed items – Year ending 31 March


  
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003


 Ayrshire and Arran
 4,551,199
 4,709,367
 4,794,133
 4,998,882
 5,158,627


 Argyll and Clyde
 5,388,845
 5,608,448
 5,870,156
 6,200,968
 6,527,302


 Borders
 1,176,697
 1,223,210
 1,263,861
 1,344,428
 1,434,289


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1,857,331
 1,969,172
 2,090,199
 2,235,938
 2,346,720


 Fife
 3,836,191
 4,024,217
 4,202,676
 4,436,151
 4,669,562


 Forth Valley
 3,289,456
 3,502,791
 3,639,723
 3,790,658
 3,999,389


 Grampian
 4,941,908
 5,104,971
 5,254,512
 5,525,309
 5,763,167


 Greater Glasgow
 11,278,411
 11,493,663
 11,816,490
 12,487,269
 13,170,097


 Highland
 2,114,015
 2,200,798
 2,292,990
 2,413,896
 2,563,823


 Lanarkshire
 7,104,284
 7,361,758
 7,612,600
 8,008,790
 8,552,818


 Lothian
 7,006,392
 7,208,168
 7,428,669
 7,718,514
 8,023,155


 Orkney
 182,626
 194,836
 194,379
 201,483
 213,977


 Shetland
 229,828
 245,372
 255,998
 274,087
 284,973


 Tayside
 4,348,178
 4,517,662
 4,665,271
 4,850,077
 5,050,275


 Western Isles
 328,475
 344,163
 359,481
 386,827
 418,025


 Scotland
 57,633,836
 59,708,596
 61,741,138
 64,873,277
 68,176,199



  Source: Data in the tables have been provided by ISD and refer to prescription items dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors, but do not take into account medicines dispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics.

National Health Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that all NHS boards implement the recommendations in the report BID79 of the Remote and Rural Affairs Resource Initiative.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Bid 79 report (Bib number 31082) covers a range of issues from Human Rights Act compliance to training and staff governance issues. There are key recommendations for improvement to the services provided to remote and rural areas and the Executive has already drawn these recommendations to the attention of the statutory agencies.

  Some £1 million has been provided to NHS boards and their partners to support planning for delivery of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. They will be providing Joint Local Implementation Plans by 31 March and I would expect these to deal appropriately with the recommendations in the Bid 79 report.

National Health Service

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that standards of data quality are consistent throughout the NHS and are maintained at the highest level possible, in light of the findings of NHSScotland Data Quality Assurance Report on Acute Inpatient / Day Case Data 2000 – 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: The report to which you refer was prepared by the Information and Statistics Division (ISD) Scotland as part of its well-established procedures for reviewing the quality of national data collected by NHSScotland. The reports produced by ISD on these reviews include recommendations to data providers on ways to maintain and where necessary improve the quality of data. ISD regularly reviews and updates its planned quality assurance programme to ensure that fit-for-purpose data are available to meet the developing needs of NHSScotland and, where data are intended for publication, to meet the standards required of National Statistics.

New Deal

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most up-to-date figures are for the number of people on each New Deal.

Lewis Macdonald: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.

  Number of People Participating in New Deal Programmes in Scotland to end December 2003

  

 New Deal Programme
 Number 
  of Participants


 New Deal for Young People
 9,750


 New Deal 25 Plus Enhanced Programme
 5,900


 New Deal for Lone Parents
 10,600



  Source: New Deal Evaluation Database, Department for Work and Pensions

  Further information, including the publication of the quarterly New Deal for Unemployed People in Scotland Statistics, can be found on the Scottish Executive New Deal website at:

   http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/ELLD/EI/00015648/New_Deal_Intro.aspx.

Pharmacies

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many tonnes of unwanted medicines were returned to community pharmacies in each year since 1995, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Since 1997 the disposal of patients’ unwanted medicines has been carried out by community pharmacies under the terms of local contracts negotiated by NHS boards and trusts and the community pharmacy contractors in their area. The information requested is not held by the Executive but may be available from individual Health boards and primary care trusts.

Pharmacies

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure that there is no disruption to the pricing of prescriptions when new desktop scanners are introduced in order to avoid any delays in payment as experienced by pharmacists when the scanner system was introduced in 2000.

Mr Tom McCabe: To ensure that the payment schedule is not compromised, existing scanners will not be moved from their location in Trinity Park House, but will remain fully operational and maintained until their replacements have been installed and tested at the new Scanner Centre in Livingston. In addition, the Common Services Agency have confirmed that they have contingency and disaster recovery arrangements in place and are keeping the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council apprised of all matters.

Planning

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money was awarded to Border Biofuels Limited in respect of its proposal for an experimental biomass plant near Whiting Bay, Isle of Arran, broken down by the awarding public body, and what the outcome was of the planning application for the plant.

Lewis Macdonald: No public funding has been awarded to the development. The project was granted outline planning permission by North Ayrshire Council on 8 October 2001, subject to a list of 25 conditions.

Planning

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it decides when it is appropriate for it to reject section 36 applications under the Electricity Act 1989 when the relevant planning authority has made no objection.

Lewis Macdonald: In determining a section 36 application, ministers must consider the characteristics, location and potential impact of the proposal. Whilst the views of the relevant planning authority carry considerable weight, ministers must have regard to the all the other representations received. An application can be refused consent for any one of a number of reasons. These include unacceptable adverse impacts that cannot be mitigated on the natural or cultural heritage, or on for instance certain aviation and radar services; unacceptable loss of amenity to those living in the locality; and incompatibility with government energy policy.

Planning

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it decides when it is appropriate for it to call a public inquiry into a section 36 application under the Electricity Act 1989 when the relevant planning authority has made no objection.

Lewis Macdonald: Schedule 8 of the Electricity Act 1989 directs ministers to consider objections received from parties other than the planning authority along with all other material considerations in determining whether a public inquiry should be held.

  In dispensing with a public inquiry, Scottish ministers must be satisfied that they can properly weigh any two or more conflicting issues and, secondly, that those with the right to make representations have had their representations properly taken into account.

Prison Service

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) headcount and (b) whole-time equivalent number of dentists working with the prison population has been in each year since 1999, broken down by prison.

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) number and (b) whole-time equivalent number of dentists has been per head of the prison population in each year since 1999, broken down by prison.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  About 14 dentists currently provide 33.5 sessions of dental care per week.

  This equates to about 3.35 whole time equivalents.

  Information is not available for previous years and for individual prisons. Broadly, the level of service has not changed appreciably in the past five years.

Prison Service

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunities exist for the development of skills in (a) young offender institutions and (b) all prisons.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  (a) Young Offenders Institutions:

  The Scottish Prison Service delivers a wide range of basic, core and life skills programmes through a partnership with Motherwell College. This provision covers basic literacy and numeracy programmes together with courses to address IT and problem solving skills. Life skills include courses such as basic financial management, food preparation and cooking, first aid, food hygiene and healthy eating, together with art and music. In addition, offenders get access to physical education.

  In Polmont the vocational training delivered includes hairdressing, joinery, bricklaying, painting and decorating and industrial cleaning. Scottish Prison Service staff using nationally recognised standards of competence to deliver the vocational training.

  (b) Prisons:

  The broad approach to delivery of skills to adult offenders does not differ markedly from the approach taken with young offenders. Scottish Prison Service staff deliver vocational training in all establishments dependent on the prisoner mix and on the facilities available in each prison.

  The Scottish Prison Service is also beginning to develop vocational training in conjunction with employers.

Public Private Partnerships

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what external scrutiny there has been of Renfrewshire Council’s schools PPP tendering procedures.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is the responsibility of the procuring client, Renfrewshire Council in this instance, in any contract to ensure that correct tendering procedures are followed. The project is subject to external audit just as any other procedure would be.

Public Private Partnerships

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place to ensure that PPP/PFI deals comply with EU procurement directives.

Mr Andy Kerr: Compliance with the EC public procurement directives is the responsibility of individual contracting authorities. Failure to comply may result in legal proceedings being brought, either by the European Commission or by an aggrieved competitor under the remedies provisions in the UK Regulations which give effect to the directives. Guidance on complying with the EU procurement directives in a PPP/PFI context was published by the Treasury Taskforce in Technical Note No. 2 How to follow EC Procurement Procedure and Advertise in the OJEC .

Public Private Partnerships

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what account it has taken of any legal challenges to PFI/PPP in England, particularly in relation to EU regulations.

Mr Andy Kerr: The legal challenges by the European Commission to two English PPP projects, which both related to the use of the negotiated procedure, have been resolved following discussion between the UK and the Commission. Our approach, as is the case in England, is that individual contracting authorities must choose the appropriate contract award procedure under the procurement directives, taking legal advice as appropriate. However, given the complexity of PPP contracts and the difficulty in pre-determining an appropriate allocation of risk, the negotiated procedure with a call for competition will generally be available.

Rail Services

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reason is for delay in amending the requirement that trains terminating at Newcraighall must enter the reversing siding rather than turning round at the platform, given the implications for passengers’ convenience, and when the issue will be resolved.

Nicol Stephen: This is a reserved matter. We understand that Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate have given recommendations on the best way forward. These have been accepted by Network Rail and ScotRail, who now plan to turn around an additional six trains a day (and any delayed services) at Newcraighall.

Regulation of Care

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many care home residents have a deferred payment agreement in place with the appropriate local authority, broken down by local authority area.

Mr Tom McCabe: The following table provides the information requested:

  Deferred Payment Agreements as at 30 September 2003

  

  
 Number 
  of Agreements


 Aberdeen City
 6


 Aberdeenshire
 0


 Angus
 0


 Argyll and Bute
 0


 Clackmannanshire
 0


 Dumfries and Galloway 1
 22


 Dundee City
 0


 East Ayrshire
 0


 East Dunbartonshire
 0


 East Lothian
 0


 East Renfrewshire
 0


 Edinburgh, City of
 0


 Eilean Siar
 0


 Falkirk
 1


 Fife
 0


 Glasgow City
 0


 Highland
 0


 Inverclyde
 0


 Midlothian
 0


 Moray
 0


 North Ayrshire
 0


 North Lanarkshire
 3


 Orkney Islands
 7


 Perth and Kinross
 9


 Renfrewshire
 7


 Scottish Borders
 0


 Shetland Islands
 2


 South Ayrshire
 12


 South Lanarkshire
 0


 Stirling
 0


 West Dunbartonshire
 0


 West Lothian
 0


 Scotland
 69



  Source: Local authority monitoring returns.

  Note:

  1. The Dumfries and Galloway figure is from December 2002.

Regulation of Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5962 by Malcolm Chisholm of 25 February 2004, what the cost was of providing free personal care for the 780 people under 65 with dementia.

Mr Tom McCabe: Only those aged 65 and over are eligible to apply for free personal care. I refer the member to the answer given to S2W-5963 in respect of those under age 65.

Road Accidents

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many child cyclist deaths there were in each year from 1992 to 2002.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested can be obtained from the table on page 17 of "Road Accidents Scotland 2002", published by the Scottish Executive in 2003, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 30447).

Road Accidents

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many child cyclist deaths were due to head injuries in each year from 1992 to 2002.

Nicol Stephen: The number of child cyclist deaths where head injuries were recorded as contributing to the cause of death in each year from 1992 to 2002 are given in the table.

  Transport Accident Deaths, Where Cyclists Under the Age of 16 Have Sustained Head Injuries1, Scotland 1992-2002

  

 Year
 Number


 1992
 4


 1993
 3


 1994
 0


 1995
 2


 1996
 2


 1997
 0


 1998
 2


 1999
 1


 2000
 2


 2001
 3


 2002
 0



  Source: General Register Office for Scotland

  Note:

  1. Other injuries contributing to the cause of death may have been sustained in the accident.

Road Accidents

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many child pedestrian deaths there were in each year from 1992 to 2002.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested can be obtained from the table on page 17 of Road Accidents Scotland 2002 , published by the Scottish Executive in 2003, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 30447).

Road Accidents

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many child pedestrian deaths were due to head injuries in each year from 1992 to 2002.

Nicol Stephen: The number of child pedestrian deaths where head injuries were recorded as contributing to the cause of death in each year from 1992 to 2002 are given in the table.

  Transport Accident Deaths, Where Pedestrians Under The Age of 16 Have Sustained Head Injuries1, Scotland, 1992-2002.

  

 Year
 Number


 1992
 11


 1993
 4


 1994
 8


 1995
 4


 1996
 4


 1997
 7


 1998
 1


 1999
 8


 2000
 7


 2001
 9


 2002
 7



  Source: General Register Office for Scotland

  Note:

  1. Other injuries contributing to the cause of death may have been sustained in the accident.

Roads

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that developers of new roads assess the needs of cyclists and that the findings of those assessments are incorporated at the planning stage and what advice it has issued to the Planning Inspectorate about meeting the needs of cyclists.

Nicol Stephen: To ensure that the developer of a new road assesses the needs of cyclists, the Scottish Executive provides policy on transport and planning in National Planning Policy Guidance 17 (NPPG17). This document recommends that cycling be integrated into the design of new developments and made subject to cycle audit.

  NPPG17 is under review and the intended replacement, draft Scottish Planning Policy 17 (SPP17), has been issued for consultation. This document makes clear the importance of development proposals contributing to safe, convenient and attractive cycle networks. Planning Advice Note 57 (PAN57) provides good practice guidance on how that policy can be achieved.

  The draft SPP17 also requires a developer’s assessment of a proposal’s transport implications to consider cycling, walking and public transport.

  The policy and guidance documents referred to above are all in the public domain. Developers, planning authorities and the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit (which is the Scottish equivalent to the Planning Inspectorate) should refer to them during the development of proposals and in the making of decisions.

Roads

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of Scotland’s total land area is taken up by roads.

Nicol Stephen: The Department of Transport (DfT) produces estimates of the total land area that is covered by all roads in Great Britain. DfT estimates that roads accounted for 0.6% of the area of Scotland in 2001.

Scottish Executive Finance

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the 30-day target for payment of invoices applies to (a) non-departmental public bodies, (b) agencies and (c) housing associations and whether the statistics published by the Executive in respect of the proportion of invoices paid within the 30-day period includes such bodies.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive is committed to paying all valid invoices within 30 days of their date of receipt. Non departmental public bodies, agencies and housing associations develop and follow their own prompt payment policies.

  The payment performance statistics published in the Scottish Executive’s Core Accounts relate only to Scottish Executive core departments. Other bodies are responsible for the reporting of their own payment performance data through their own annual reports.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set a firm deadline for the submission of claims for ex-gratia payments to former members and dependants of former members of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes so that the remainder of the total amount agreed for ex-gratia payments can be paid out to those who have submitted claims.

Nicol Stephen: Given the slow current pace of payments, I will consider over the next few weeks whether a deadline should be set and, if so, how it will operate. I will remain mindful of the position of those with entitlement to payments under the present arrangements but who, for whatever reason, have not claimed them.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how much interest has accrued on the original sums that it agreed for ex-gratia payments to former members and dependants of former members of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes from the time of the announcement of the sums to the time of the payment and whether it will ensure that such interest is paid out to those eligible for ex-gratia payments in addition to any payments already made.

Nicol Stephen: The £126 million allocated to provide the programme of ex-gratia payments to former members of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes is a fixed amount and, in common with most government programmes, does not vary along with the timing of the individual payments.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Schemes

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has now been paid out in ex-gratia payments to members and former members of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes and how much, including interest, is left of the total sum agreed for ex-gratia payments.

Nicol Stephen: To date £121.72 million has been paid leaving a balance of £4.28 million still to be paid. I last gave figures in response to question S2W-5036 as at 21 January 2004, since then a further eight payments totalling about £44,000 have been made.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Scottish Water

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the bonus scheme for directors and senior management at Scottish Water.

Allan Wilson: The Executive reviews with Scottish Water annually the performance targets and arrangements for the scheme.

Scottish Water

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Water will deliver its Quality and Standards 2 investment programme in time to comply with legislative deadlines for fresh and wastewater quality.

Allan Wilson: Ministers have tasked Scottish Water with delivering the current capital programme (Quality and Standards II) to quality and legislative standards as specified by the appropriate regulator and to overall efficiency targets as set by the Water Industry Commissioner.

  The delivery of Scottish Water’s capital programme is a matter on which ministers place the highest priority. It is one of the principle achievements for which the board of Scottish Water will be held accountable. At my last meeting with Scottish Water when this issue was discussed, I received assurance that current investment commitments would be delivered to the timescales agreed with the relevant regulator.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been spent by social inclusion partnerships on addressing (a) alcohol and (b) drug misuse in each year since their inception.

Ms Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Separate social inclusion partnership (SIP) funding has been allocated since 2000 to tackle controlled drugs as defined under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 but is not allocated specifically to address alcohol. Although projects dealing with controlled drugs can include support to address alcohol misuse details of these are not held centrally.

  The total grant expenditure across the SIP network under the SIP Tackling Drugs Misuse grant amounted to £0.844 million in 2000-01, £1.088 million in 2001-02 and £1.693 million in 2002-03. Expenditure details are not yet available for 2003-04.

Social Work

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the national standard is for social worker contact with a child on supervision.

Euan Robson: There are no national standards for the frequency of contact between a social worker and a child on supervision.

Sport

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support muay thai.

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support will be available to muay thai competitors who will represent Scotland in the World Championships in Thailand later this year.

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance will be provided to ensure that Scottish muay thai competitors are able to compete in the 2008 Olympics.

Mr Frank McAveety: Muay Thai is not a recognised sport and therefore receives no support from  sportscotland.

Sport

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used by sportscotland to ensure that sports recognised by the International Olympic Committee are supported by it.

Mr Frank McAveety: In considering the recognition of sports,  sportscotland apply criteria which have been agreed between the four home country sports councils and UK Sport. It is for the International Olympic Committee to determine what criteria it applies in recognising sports.

Teacher Training

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teacher training places there have been and what funding has been provided for teacher training in each year since 1995, giving the funding figures also at 1995 prices.

Mr Jim Wallace: The following table gives the numbers of students on teacher training courses in Scotland and levels of funding provided for these places:

  


Year

Number

Funding

Funding 
  at 95 levels



1995-96

7,056

£27,571,719

£27,571,719



1996-97

6,782

£26,713,276

£26,494,990



1997-98

6,501

£25,988,501

£25,394,197



1998-99

6,263

£26,652,391

£24,508,549



1999-2000

6,436

£28,055,450

£25,087,443



2000-01

6,615

£30,618,058

£25,769,357



2001-02

7,176

£33,414,495

£27,868,746



2002-03

6,670

£32,822,129

£26,024,490



2003-04

6,898

£35,252,427

£26,888,049

Teacher Training

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many initial teacher education student places were unfilled in each year since 1997.

Peter Peacock: Information on how many initial teacher education places were unfilled in each year since 1997 is shown in the table:

  


1997-98

1998-99

1999-2000

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04



12

37

22

33

0

4

2



  The majority of the unfilled places prior 2001-2002 were in BEd Music and BEd Technological Education courses. Higher education institutions have successfully increased the number of students enrolling on to these courses.

Teacher Training

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £78 million announced in its press release SEed539/2004 on 23 February 2004 will be allocated to teacher training.

Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-4928 on 12 January 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available from the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Tourism

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the efficiency of the visitscotland contact centre in Livingston.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Livingston contact centre is run by visitscotland.com, a private company. The Executive does not have a role in assessing the efficiency of the company. However, as a shareholder in visitscotland.com, VisitScotland has reported that it is currently performing better than expected against projected targets. Visitscotland.com is a world-class information and booking facility that plays a vital role in promoting tourism in Scotland.

Tourism

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with (a) Northlink Ferries, (b) the Smyril Line and (c) other ferry and cruise ship operators regarding the marketing of Shetland as a holiday destination.

Mr Frank McAveety: This is a matter for VisitScotland and the area tourist boards which both welcome opportunities to work with transport operators serving Scotland and its islands.

  Shetland Islands Tourism works well with both Northlink Ferries and Smyril Line to market Shetland in its own right and as a hub providing access to more remote areas of the North Atlantic.

Tourism

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase funding to the Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Trossachs Tourist Board to replace any funding gap created by the loss of European structural funds.

Mr Frank McAveety: The European Commission's Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion, published on 18 February, outlines its proposals for Structural and Cohesion Funds in the next programming period for 2007-13. The Commission is expected to publish formal proposals in July 2004 for negotiation among member states and it is hoped that an agreement on these proposals can be reached in the Council of Ministers by the end of 2005.

  Therefore, the future of European Structural Funds is still at an early stage and it is not yet possible to predict how much funding any area tourist board will receive post 2006.

Transport

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4417 by Nicol Stephen on 10 December 2003, how it has responded to the representations that it has received on re-regulating the bus industry.

Nicol Stephen: Responses to representations refer to the "toolkit" of options provided under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 for local authorities to enhance the provision of bus services. This "toolkit" includes quality partnerships and quality contracts. Responses also make the point that, given these alternatives, the Executive is not persuaded that re-regulation of bus services in Scotland is appropriate.

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has regarding the granting of rebates in respect of modes of transport other than buses, including aviation fuel for piston engines.

Nicol Stephen: Taxation, including the level of duty applicable to transport, is a matter reserved to the UK Government. However, the Scottish Executive has general provision which enables it to provide grants towards transport. Such grants are subject to specific criteria as is the case with the Bus Service Operators Grant.

Transport

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in implementing a public service obligation for transport to and from Shetland and what organisations it has had discussions with about this issue.

Nicol Stephen: The proposals contained in the original report by the Highlands and Islands Strategic Transport Partnership (HITRANS) are being comprehensively evaluated. Work is now being progressed aimed at assessing and validating the operational and technical feasibility of the proposals. The Executive has had discussions with HITRANS, local authorities, airlines, airport operators and specialist advisers.

Waste Management

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is on target to meet its aim that no more than 3.5 million tonnes of municipal waste be produced in 2010, as stated in The National Waste Plan 2003.

Allan Wilson: The Executive remains committed to the aim in the National Waste Plan to stop growth in the amount of municipal waste produced by 2010. We are taking a number of steps to achieve this aim. These include support for home composting, through the Strategic Waste Fund, and support for a waste minimisation programme by the Waste and Resources Action Programme. This programme includes home composting, the promotion of real nappies and work with retailers. In addition, the Executive is currently working with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and others to develop a national framework for household waste prevention.

Waste Management

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has spent on (a) recycling, (b) composting and (c) waste prevention in each of the last five years.

Allan Wilson: A detailed breakdown into (a), (b) and (c) is not available.

  In addition to the Revenue Support Grant provided to local authorities for waste management services, over £51 million has been spent on recycling, composting and waste prevention initiatives in the past five years.

  A breakdown of funding awarded for these aims from Strategic Waste Fund, Sustainable Action Fund, Quality of Life Fund and Landfill Tax Credit Scheme Interim Fund over the past five years is outlined in the table.

  Scottish Executive Grants For Recycling, Composting and Waste Prevention Initiatives 1999 - 2004

  

 Year
 Strategic 
  Waste Fund (local authority grants)
 Strategic 
  Waste Fund (other waste initiatives)
 Sustainable 
  Action Fund (recycling, composting etc)
 Quality 
  of life grants (recycling banks)
 Landfill 
  Tax Credit Scheme Interim Fund


 1999-2000
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 2000-01
 £3 
  million
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 2001-02
 £3 
  million
 £1 
  million
 £93,600
 n/a
 n/a


 2002-03
 £10 
  million
 £1 
  million
 £26,905
 £2.235 
  million
 n/a


 *2003-04
 £22 
  million
 £6.5 
  million
 £10,000
 n/a
 £2.5 
  million


 Total
 £38 
  million
 £8.5 
  million
 £130,505
 £2.235 
  million
 £2.5 
  million



  Note: *Figures for 2003-04 are expected outturns.

Wildlife

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in exercising its powers to shoot deer under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996, it has acted at all times in accordance with health and safety requirements, with particular regard to the possible presence of walkers in the area of the cull.

Allan Wilson: I am satisfied that the Deer Commission for Scotland (DCS), in exercising its powers under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996, has at all times acted in accordance with best practice and health and safety requirements, in particular with regard to the possible presence of walkers in the area of the cull.